Role of Textile Mill Workers of Coimbatore in the Freedom Struggle

Dr. A Manimekalai Associate Professorof History, Government Arts College, Coimbatore-641018,

Veeralakshmi Government Arts College, Coimba. Abstract The research is about the role of Mill workers in the National Movement. Coimbatore played a significant role in the National Movement. The research aims to bring to the limelight the heroic deeds of Industrial Workers and other freedom fighters during the last phase of freedom struggle. The research has its aim to appraise the deeds of the local leaders who lead the National Movement. At one stage it became a mass movement and a large number of local people participated in it. The research aims to assess the role of mill and industrial workers in the Quit India Movement. The steps taken by the British Government to curtail the mass movement and the punishments rendered to the freedom fighters will be dealt with in detail. It traces the role of Press in the national movement. Key words: National Movement, Freedom Fighters, Mass movement, Quit India movement, Mill workers Introduction: Freedom struggle in Coimbatore has a unique character of its own. The people of region made remarkable contributions at every stage of the freedom movement. Every Section of the society participated in the struggle even from the early stages. Whenever Gandhji announced any movement, the Tamil people always were the first to start the movement. A number of local leaders lead the people in all the movement. The workers from the mills and other industries sacrificed their jobs and belongings for our National cause. Quit India Movement was the last movement against the British, launched by Mahatma Gandhi. The response in the rural areas was spontaneous. People came out in large numbers on hearing Gandhiji’s arrest. The textile mill hands struck work and came out of their mills and factories en masse in Coimbatore and other cities. A number of local leaders took part in the movement. They organized mass meetings, arranged demonstrations and educated their brethren about the fundamentals of independence. In spite of warnings by the Police, meetings were held at numerous places. Detention orders, imprisonment, personal attacks never changed the minds of the people especially the workers. They met in secret meetings where the course of action against the government was formulated. The damage caused to the Government property was immense. They planned for the annihilation of railway track near Coimbatore. During the course of action they were very careful not to cause any harm to the rail travelers. The Sulur aerodrome was set to fire. It was accomplished with the help of local people. Thus the zeal and enthusiasm shown by the industrial workers for the cause Nationalism was elucidated in the present study. In 1942, the Congress leaders Gandhi, Nehru, Azad, Patel and some other Congress leaders met in Wardha to plan the final war against the British. Finally on eighth August, 1942, these congress leaders met in Bombay to declare the announcement- started with ‘Do or Die’.At that time, Coimbatore district Congress leader T.S. AvinashalingamChettiyar went to Bombay but before this meeting ended, he started his journey back to Coimbatore. Thus, he escaped from being arrested on that day. Next day, Gandhi, Nehru, Azad, Patel and some other Congress leaders were arrested. This news spread throughout the country. On hearing this news, huge crowd gathered together in V.O.C. park ground in Coimbatore (That time it was called as Karanesan Park). The freedom fighters started giving speech against this act which warmed blood of everyone present over there. People started thinking about ways to struggle for Indian independence. The speakers were the mill Union leaders like, JETIR1907A26 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 16

N.G.Ramasamy, K.P.Thiruvengadam, P.S.Chinnadurai, K.V.Ramasamy who inspired the people present there. While Congress leaders were following the path of non-violence, ahimsa, satyagraha, people wanted to do take some aggressive steps but didn’t had a leader to guide them. That time socialists were interested to lead the freedom war. Soon in the night of twelfth August 1942, the mill workers gathered minimum hundred people and met in Ondipudur, samiyar stage of Kokkali Thottam. N.G.Ramasamy spoke about the ways to chalk out British and upon hearing, K.P. Thiruvengadam and Chinnadurai assigns each person with a work. Some other freedom fighters were S.V.RamasamyPillai, V.Jeganathan, R.Kuppusamy, N.Ramu, K.R.Gurusamy, B.Velusamy, Bu.Bu. Ramu, K.Anganathevar, Abdul Rahim, A.K.AbdulMajid. Then at the end of the meeting, some important decisions were taken against the British government. The main decisions are as follows: Train Derailment

Torching Sulur Air Base

Picketing the toddy shops

Destroying the telephone posts

Destroying the Covai central jail and releasing the prisons. These decisions were explained by K.P. Thiruvengadam, and he asked other members not to reveal any of the names to police if someone gets arrested. Freedom fighters took pledge and went to their home at night. Few stayed at Kokkali Thottam. Under the supervision of KannampalayamK.V.Ramsamy, six groups were formed with six members in each group. The remaining members were asked to execute the plan made by these group members. The freedom fighters accepted and got ready to complete these two tasks against the British.

TRAIN DERAILMENT

On eleventh of August 1942, N.G.Ramasamy and Thiruvengadam met some patiotic railway officers in Pothanur station secretly. One officer gave information that a goods train carrying explosives and weapons made in Arvankadu will pass through Pothanur on thirteenth of August 1942. If N.G.Ramasamy and his groups of freedom fighters wanted to do something against British, the officer asked them to enact on that day. Upon knowing the news, both became happy and called upon all his members mainly Krishnan, RamasamyPillai and Bu.Bu.Ramu. At night, they planned to derail the goods train passing through Singanallur at 1.30 a.m. but they took care not to cause any disturbance to common life. So the freedom fighters planned to derail the train while passing through boat house so that even if the explosives blast, it will not lead to human loss. For achieving all this, a tool box was required. But they can’t arrange for the tools outside as they will get caught by police. Luckily, they spotted a toolbox near the railway track and however, succeeded in opening that. When the plan was narrated to N.G.Ramasamy, he asked for his participation. K.P.Thiruvengadam did not accept. Instead he might be surrendered and got arrested on behalf of others. Everyone assembled there agreed to that arrangement. N.G.Ramasamy wanted to be a part of the conspiracy. He spent the night there. The next day morning, he was arrested while praying at the Sowdeswari Amman temple situated in the centre of the Ondipudur. After completing his prayer, he went out of the temple and police arrested N.G.Ramasamy. Along with him, other members too got arrested while rest of the freedom fighters remained hidden from the eyes of police force. Outside the temple, people stood against the police while arresting leader N.G. Ramasamy. Common people were very angry with the police. Police had to face many problems in the city. To avoid the destruction, the police didn’t handcuffed N.G.Ramasamy and he walked to jail from Ondipudur. People on the road started shouting vigorously ‘Gandhijiki jai’ and expressed their freedom feelings. On that same day, around sixty people went to the spot opposite to Venkatalakshmi KalyanaMandapam at night to execute their plan. They tied the incharge man there and got the keys for toolbox. A passenger train passed by around twelve hours past fourty five minutes at night, but they JETIR1907A26 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 17

didn’t do anything to this train as it was carrying a bulk of common people. They waited for the goods train. And before it arrived, they removed the screws and bolts of the track but kept the track in place so that the engine driver cannot identify it. After finishing their work, they didn’t leave the place but stood aside to watch the disaster to happen. As planned, the train arrived at one o’clock and twelve boxes tumbled over one another. Joy knew no bounds for freedom fighters upon seeing this incident and felt like derailing British Kingdom just as thederailing of train. Everyone took pledge that they would not reveal the names of their members if caught in the hands of police. Next day, the news spread everywhere. The police were doing their job in Trichy road only. They suspected North Indian terrorists for these activities. All freedom fighters started doing their routine work without giving police a subtle hint. Nobody ever talked about that incident thereafter. Looking these factors, the police decided that localities from Coimbatore couldn’t have executed the operation and concluded blaming terrorists from North India. Government train was derailed and the weapons were destructed. The Singanallur – train derailment incident shook the country. When this incident occurred, neither the police nor the military could trace the people involved in this act. So they started beating up the common people in search of the truth but no one uttered a single word even after shedding blood. SULUR AERODROME TORCH On twenty fourth of August 1942, in KeviarThottam in Kannampalayam, around one hundred and fifty members met together at night.In the meeting, two main decisions were taken. First and important one was torching Sulur Aerodrome and another one was to take charge of Sulur police station. The reason behind the decision was: In the Quit India Movement, freedom fighters can succeed only if the force is driven out and hence planned to torch Sulur air base to kick out the Britishers.

They needed weapons to combat this battle and thus wanted to seize Sulur police station so that they could acquire the weapons and use them to free the freedom fighters inside Coimbatore central jail and also to bring control over collector treasury under them.

While planning, they thought of the necessities to carry out this incident but had no money. At that time, K.B.Thiruvengadam gave six rupees for buying kerosene as one tin of kerosene costs six rupees at those days. Among the group, Muthukarruppan, a dhobi said he would prepare „vendayam‟ (a cloth soaked in a flammable substance that is wrapped onto wooden stave or torch). On hearing this, everyone was delighted to know that all arrangements have been made. On twenty sixth of August 1942, important leaders including Bu. Bu. Ramu, K.B.Chinnayan, KadambadiRamasamy, KiruthamechaipalaniyappaGounder, PalanichamiGounder, Muthukaruppan and Mottayaia met in Kannampalayam Karakuttai.1 K.B.Chinnayan, KadampadiRamasamy and Bu. Bu. Ramu passed the message to other freedom fighters in their group. They walked from Kannampalayam to Royar temple in Sulur. Around three hundred freedom fighters from Ravathur, Kollathur, AthappaGoundanputhur, Irukur, Ondipudur, Pattanamputhur, Nadupalayam, Pallapalayam and Peedampali also joined them in Royar temple. After the succession of the exciting events, freedom fighters started planning for further incidents. On sixteenth of August 1942, freedom fighters called the laborers from Cambodia mill, Kasthuri mill, Vasantha mill and Saroja mill. As soon as everyone came out of the mill, they were compelled to close the mill. Freedom fighters united the laborers from these four mills and destroyed the toddy shops and laid down the telephone posts.After these incidents in a row, freedom fighters went to Coimbatore central jail, but the police team already knew about this mission and thus stayed alert giving full security around the jail. Police fired the freedom fighters and beat them severely. So this plan of destroying Coimbatore central jail plan went in vain. But nobody sat empty at home. Once again, they started planning for the next incident. They decided to carry out following things: Loot Imperial Bank (Currently State Bank) near Coimbatore railway station. Set toddy shops ablaze. Destroy telephone posts. JETIR1907A26 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 18

Set fire on post offices.

All the freedom fighters divided themselves into three sets or groups. People having Kavan in hand were marching in front. Their task was to safeguard the whole group and to check for any security in between. If any security comes into vision, then they should tie them. Behind them, people holding vendayam were walking. The third set of people was ready to light the vendayams as soon as they receive information. At that time only, runway was emerging in Sulur Air Base. They set fire in the tent placed opposite to north of Trichy road at around ten p.m. They burnt down the Motor shed in the British Air Base at Sulur.1 Twenty eight Mangalore lorries were standing in the shed. People were sleeping in about thirty tents. Twenty two lorries were destroyed and 3 lorry drivers were killed. Everyone was awakened so that no one could escape from the incident and to ensure this, freedom fighters surrounded those people. Freedom fighters had an intention not to harm mankind. However, as many as three British soldiers guarding the aerodrome died in the fire and one man managed to escape from there. To avoid other people from escaping, freedom fighters started throwing stones to block the road. Next morning, the whole Trichy road was filled with stones. The man who managed to escape complained about these freedom fighters in Sulur police station. As a consequence, the following plans- seizing weapons from police station, setting prisoners free and getting collector treasury got failed. Police force caught few of the members in the group and they were beaten and tortured a lot. But still, they didn’t leak names of their companions. However all the freedom fighters got arrested at the end. Fifty eight of them were caught for Singanallur train derailment, ninety six were caught for torching Sulur Aerodrome, twenty six for picketing liquor shops but K.V.Ramasamy was not sent to jail till the end. The police troop couldn’t trace him. Finally the police announced anybody who can catch or help to find K.V.Ramasamy would be given five hundred rupees. The news spread all over. On the contrary, K.V.Ramasamy put up posters all over the place announcing that he would give thousand rupees (a princely sum then and double what the British announced) to anyone who could catch him. Nobody could spot K.V.Ramasamy. Police thought more people could have been involved in this Sulur aerodrome incident and suspected that those participants belonged to areas near Sulur.

Reaction of the Government Police thought freedom fighters around Sulur should have carried out this incident. So the police force was searching for the freedom fighters painstakingly. However, all the freedom fighters managed to escape after this incident. Unfortunately, two people got arrested by police. But they didn’t give up their conspirators. The police wandered around each and every house in Sulur in search of these rebels. The police didn‟t succeed in finding these freedom fighters. Ultimately, police force got annoyed and announced the thimirvari (a tax levied on their temerity). British Government announced that the loss incurred in torching Sulur Aerodrome would be balanced by the tax given by common people. After the Sulur Aerodrome was torched, a thimirvari of seven rupees per head was imposed on the people in the surrounding areas. Already those who were paying other taxes including this thimirvari were also compelled to pay. On account of Sulur Aerodrome incident, the British government sentenced twenty years of imprisonment to ninety nine persons and one to ten years of imprisonment was announced to six hundred and thirty three people.

References The perils of the past”, The Hindu, dated May 28, 2005 K. Devamani and M. Kathirveli, “ViduthalaiVelviyilMalarunthaMazhar Bu. Bu. Ramu”, BharathiPuthakalayam, Coimbatore, Senthalai N. Gowthaman, “Sulur History”, Pandiyan Computer Press, Madurai, 1995, p. 301. “1942 August PuratchiyalAllaiThozhilalrugal”, KovaiZilla Congress Malar, 1965.

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